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Nokia is going all in on mapping services for iOS.
The company yesterday launched Here Maps, a free application that provides a host of features for travelers. The mapping application is powered by Navteq data, the same information used in the majority of in-car navigation systems. Users are able to view maps and get real-time traffic data on a particular area. Here Maps also includes a satellite view and the ability to save map areas for later.
To add a social flavor, Here Maps lets users create and save maps that can be accessed by others. Users can also share points of interest.
Nokia showed off Here at a special event last week. The cloud-based platform was touted by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who said that the platform is capable of “transforming mapping.” He noted that the application’s goal is “creating more personal maps that change how we navigate our lives.”
But that’s not all. Elop also mentioned that “openness is what sets Here apart,” adding that it will be coming to most mobile operating systems in the coming months. A software development kit for Android, in fact, is rolling out in the first quarter of 2013.
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Here Maps for iOS comes with step-by-step voice-guided navigation for travelers on foot. The app also features walk navigation through pedestrian walkways and parks. Considering it’s a mapping application, Nokia has of course bundled driving directions into the program.
Nokia’s push to iOS is a thinly veiled attempt to capitalize on the mapping kerfuffle impacting iOS 6 users. With that launch, Apple decided to nix Google Maps in favor of its own Maps application. But it wasn’t long after launch that Apple CEO Tim Cook was forced to apologize to users, citing Maps’ many issues, including incorrect maps, duplicate landmarks, and other odd errors. Apple suggested competing mapping applications available in the App Store for users to consider while it works out the kinks.
Here Maps is available now in Apple’s App Store. The application is designed for both the iPhone and iPad.
